MELBOURNE， May 4 (Xinhua) -- Melbourne Victory will feature inthe Asian Champions League (ACL) knockout stage for the first timein the A-League club's short history after beating Japan's GambaOsaka 2-1 in Melbourne overnight.

Starting the night even on points - and boasting a superiorhead-to-head record - with 2015 K-League runner-up Suwon Bluewingsin Group G， Victory needed a win to lock up their place in the last16 of the prestigious competition.

Despite failing to navigate their way past the group stages intheir four previous ACL appearances， Victory held their nerve tobreak the hoodoo through goals from Besart Berisha and ArchieThompson.

Following the hard-fought result， Melbourne Victory managerKevin Muscat told reporters that he was "elated" to finally breaknew ground in Asia.

"It's a big achievement considering we have had five attempts(to qualify before). That joy is overriding. It's great for theclub， we have managed to create some history a couple of times thisyear， we had never won the FFA Cup either，" Muscat said on Tuesdaynight.

After winning the A-League champions trophy last year， MelbourneVictory - arguably Australia's biggest football club - struggled onthe domestic front this season， finishing sixth before bowing outin the first week of the finals.

Gamba Osaka， J-League giants， threatened to spoil the show，drawing within a goal in the last five minutes.

"That was typical of our season， that we left the door halfopen， gave them an opportunity，" Muscat said.

Last night's game loomed as a potential swansong for club legendArchie Thompson， who has scored 91 times since the club's maidenseason in 2005.

However， the 37-year-old striker helped to prolong his farewellby hitting the scoresheet.

"This is a great result and it's beautiful to be part ofsomething like this，" Thompson said post-match.

"It's the first time we've got through the group stage and youcan't get rid of me just yet.

"This has given me an unbelievable thirst (for the ACLcompetition)."

Victory will now prepare for home and away clashes in the roundof 16 on May 17 and 24 against the winner of Group E， either SouthKorea's Jeonbuk or China's Jiangsu Sainty.

However， the Sky Blues had already clinched their place in theknockout stage prior to the match， and still finished a point clearof Japan's Urawa Reds at the top of Group H. Enditem

Russell Westbrook scored 35 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder fought back to stun the San -Antonio Spurs 95-91 and take a 3-2 series lead in their Western Conference semifinal playoff series on Tuesday.

Oklahoma City had trailed by as much as 13 points at one point as the Spurs looked to seize the initiative in front of their home crowd at the AT&T Center.

But a scintillating fourth--quarter fightback transformed the contest and means the Thunder can clinch a series victory back in Oklahoma City in Thursday's Game 6.

San Antonio appeared to be headed for victory after Kawhi Leonard punished a sloppy Thunder pass to put the Spurs 88-82 ahead with just over four minutes remaining.

Oklahoma City's Enes Kanter played a key role Homme Nike Air Force 1 SF AF1 Mid Boots Ivory Pas Cher , hitting a layup and then blocking the Spurs' Tim Duncan before running the length of the court to collect from Westbrook to hit another layup that put the Thunder up 90-88.

San Antonio's Tony Parker tied the game with a jump shot to make it 90-90, but two free throws from Kevin Durant -restored Oklahoma City's two-point lead at 92-90.

Parker could have tied but instead missed one of two free throws to make it 92-91. The French star then missed a jumper with just over nine seconds remaining.

Westbrook gathered and converted a layup while being fouled before adding a free throw with 6.3 seconds on the clock to effectively clinch the win.

For the first quarter of 2015, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was at 1.48 degrees Fahrenheit (0. 82 degrees Celsius) above the 20th century average Nike Air Force 1 Special Field Haute Boots Blanche Pas Cher , surpassing the previous record of 2002 by 0.09 degrees Fahrenheit (0.05 degrees Celsius).

One result from this year's record warmth was that arctic sea ice extent was the smallest for the month of March since records began in 1979, 7.2 percent below the 1981-2010 average.